Nairn (reprised)

What were we thinking?

Four years ago, neither Mrs W nor I could get on with Nairn, but ever since golfers have been telling me how much they love this track.

Therefore, I am delighted to report that its magic dust seeped into our every pore this time.

Our previous visit was in July, on a slate-grey day when none of the fiendish gorse was in bloom.

This time, the sun shone brightly, and the glorious omnipresent yellow contrasted vividly with the azure blue of the ocean and the verdant green of the course.

However, the kaleidoscope of colours was not the only difference. We loved the variety of the holes on the course and the convivial atmosphere in the clubhouse.

I can’t understand why, in 2021, we thought the former was unfair, and the latter was “upmarket”.

Indeed, this time, Mrs W played so well that her handicap was cut thereafter.

Our welcome at Nairn was more than friendly. Before lunch, we were shown into its archive room, where records, old clubs, and trophies are lovingly kept. Visitors can book 30-minute tours with archivist Hugh Sutherland.

The clubhouse view is superb – out onto the putting green and down the first hole, which runs parallel to the beach.

The wind was coming off the sea for our game, so white horses danced the breaking waves.

The practice ground at Nairn is impressive, and it also has a popular par-three course where short games are honed.

I should have spent an hour or two there because my straight driving needs to be complemented by more accurate pitching and putting.

The jovial starter gave us a Nairn goodie bag before inviting us to tee off on the first, a par–four that is usually into the wind.

The third hole was one of my favourites – a bending par-four around a left-corner bunker and inside bushes on the right.

But the most striking detail was the green complex, with traps, hillocks, and undulations that make it difficult to find the putting surface with wind assistance.

It is followed by a stellar par-three that goes back out to sea and demands a big precise hit down the left to avoid big bunkers and tufty rough. Mrs W played it perfectly and recorded a handsome three.

The stroke-index one, par-four fifth that runs close to the rocky barrier between the course and the beach, was less intimidating than usual because of the favourable breeze.

All four drives flew past the big bunkers on either side of the fairway, but the greatest danger was a potential fall off the slope to the right into light rough or to the right into traps around the green.

The evening before our round, a member told us how she had planted her drive on the par-five seventh on the adjacent beach and then, despite sticky wet sand, hammered her ball back onto the fairway and won the hole.

This may have prompted a subconscious thought because the gap between fairway bunkers and the ocean seemed very tight, prompting me to knock into the rough on the opposite side.

However, I was undone by the sand trap protecting the green.

Unfortunately, the iconic halfway house between the ninth green and 10th hole was not open when we played, but it is usually a perfect stop-off point.

The Bothy and its neighbouring ice house were built more than a century ago to catch and store salmon, and the former has been converted by the golf club.

It is a unique spot to pause for refreshment and take in the views.

The 13th hole begins a classic three-hole stretch. It ascends gently between trees and gorse before the gradient becomes much more steep towards a huge green.

Short approaches could result in balls falling back down the fairway, and those that are too long will leave treacherous downhill putts.

A gorgeous backdrop of the sea and The Black Isle can detract from the danger of the handsome par-three 14th.

Despite being downhill, the stiff wind dictated that I take a full-blooded driver. I was delighted to find the top tier of the green. Alas, the birdie putt missed by six inches.

Only a mound, flicking my ball 90 degrees left, prevented me from reaching the target with my drive on the short par-four 15th.

Disappointingly, my eagle putt wasn’t near enough to complete my birdie.

Comedy came on the 17th, a long par-four over a burn into which I nearly dived in pursuit of a ball that wasn’t even mine.

The final hole rises to the occasion – a par-five lined with bunkers and a meandering green with many borrows. It is the culmination of a round in which Nairn found its way into my heart.

I can’t fully explain why it didn’t back in 2021, but since then, I have become a great lover of links golf, and Nairn deserves its place in the pantheon of acclaimed tracks by the sea.